Divorce ends the marriage, but it does not update your paperwork. NIS handles this under the same change-in-marital-status list as a marriage, with proof of the divorce.
The order, and which case you are in
- A High Court affidavit reverting your name.
- NIN modification with NIMC.
- Your passport, with proof of the divorce.
- Everything else that still carries your married name.
Work out which case you are in before you start:
- Your NIN and passport both carry your married name. Do all three steps.
- Only some documents carry it. It still helps to start with the affidavit. Then fix the ones that changed.
- None of your documents ever took your married name. There is nothing to revert. Keep your decree safe.
Step 1: the affidavit
NIS lists a High Court affidavit for a change in marital status, as it does after a marriage. A commissioner for oaths, a notary public, or a judge of the Federal High Court or a higher court can take one inside Nigeria.
Living abroad, you can swear it before a Nigerian embassy or high commission official of the rank of secretary or above. The result counts as if you had sworn it in Nigeria, but confirm with NIS and NIMC that they accept it. Swearing an affidavit abroad covers that route. For the wording after a divorce, see change of name affidavit after divorce.
To have a vetted partner firm file the affidavit, start a change of name request. It covers the affidavit step only.
Step 2: your NIN
With the affidavit sworn, update your NIN next. NIMC's own site does not list documents by field, so check the portal for what it asks for after a divorce. Changing your surname on NIN after marriage shows the portal steps for a name change. It is the closest guide.
Do this before the passport. NIS takes your personal details from your NIN record.
Step 3: your passport
NIS lists your marriage certificate, a High Court affidavit, a newspaper publication, an application letter, an NPC birth certificate or declaration of age, a state of origin certificate and your passport data page for a change of marital status. After a divorce it asks for a decree absolute or a declaration of divorce, so check the portal for which other items still apply. If you have remarried since, it asks for the certificate of your current marriage.
If a court outside Nigeria granted your divorce, NIS's list does not say whether that decree needs anything extra. Ask NIS before you apply, and ask the court that issued it how it certifies copies. You attend with your current booklet for a new photo and biometrics.
What still needs to catch up
Your bank, employer and anything tied to your married name will not update themselves. It can help to work through them once your NIN and passport agree.
If you started out of order, your name doesn't match across your documents covers how a mismatch arises and how to fix one.
Common mistakes
- Applying for the passport update before the NIN change is done, when NIS reads your details from your NIN record.
- Assuming a foreign decree needs nothing before NIS will read it.
- Forgetting the decree, which NIS asks for at the passport stage.
- Mixing this up with a correction of an NIS error, which is a separate process with a listed administrative charge.
The other name-change chains sit on the diaspora and life events hub.